The main problem is that motorists believe that they really do pay for the roads. Our presence is believed to be an impediment to their smooth travel by a group who are not contributing anything. They see it as "How can these people be allowed to get in my way (and expect me to take responsibility for their safety) without paying all the taxes that my car attracts". Motorists have been the cash cow for governments for decades and I can understand some of that frustration.Law breaking and the rest of it ... just background noise. Anyone who uses the road knows that all road users are law breakers.Making cycles pay wont help one bit because we will never pay enough, but removing motorists charges might. We need to break down the idea that motorists pay for everything.Fat chance with fuel tax, rego, speed tax - governments arent going to give that away.CBD congestion charges will only bolster the "user pays, user owns" thinking.At the very least we need a high rotation ad campaign stating the roads are not the result of registration and fuel excise and we need it for a long duration.

But we CAN get a quick start on our own nature by simply making a commitment to do so.

You know guys, thirty years ago cyclists and motorists were pretty good to each other. THEN we became tribal, self righteous, loud and activist. There is a place for some of these things but it needs to be thought through.

I'd start with"tribal" and "self righteousness". Both of those will serve to annoy and will NEVER get people on side.

diventare wrote:Making cycles pay wont help one bit because we will never pay enough, but removing motorists charges might. We need to break down the idea that motorists pay for everything.

Why on earth would we do that for? Motorists don't pay enough to cover the damage they do to the roads and the trauma they cause as it is.

I think most motorists are well aware they don't pay the full cost of the road network and that they're being subsidized by others including cyclists. They just don't like it and think that preaching lies long enough will eventually make them truths. They act like babies and then complain of the 'nanny' state.

Maybe an education campaign informing the high and mighty that if they truly paid for the roads, fuel excise would be in the order of several dollars per litre and if they had any brains at all, they'd shut up about it. A hit to the hip pocket is about all some people will ever understand. And for a select few, even that doesn't help and nothing short of a public whipping will do the job. But one thing is for sure, talking reason to a brick is a waste of time. Maybe I'll play Pink Floyd's 'Another brick in the wall' any time a motorist harps on about cyclists. I could make that into a TV ad

And in this modern day and age of fancy I-Pads and other electronic gizmos, I think cops should be allowed to pull over any motorist at anytime for a quick 10 question multiple choice test and issue a nice little fine if they fail as well as compulsory attendance at a road training school / re education camp / whatever you want to call it.

It's just a shame we can't test for poor attitude. For a lot of motorists, it seems to be a case of 'yes sir, no sir, I'll bend over for you sir' when getting their license but once there's no one looking over their shoulder, it's anything goes and they do as they please.

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